Nice Try, Carly Fiorina
Why the “Most Powerful Woman” was Doomed From the Start
Back in September, when the media was buzzing with excitement over Carly Fiorina polling second place, the women of America were showing bi-partisan support. She was “winning” debates and trending upwards, giving Democratic and Republican women alike the thrilling potential of a female president. In a time where Hillary was looking less and less trustworthy, her reputation tainted by sketchy emails and approaching Benghazi hearings, even being called “Worst Ethics Violator of 2015” and “The Most Evil Bitch in America,” Fiorina touted titles like CEO of Hewlett-Packard and “Most Powerful Woman in American Business.” Compared to Clinton, she was an honorable and competent beacon of hope.
So what happened? Why did America forgive Hillary and forget Carly so quickly? The key difference between these women, of course, is their party. The Republican Party was not built to embrace a female candidate. Fiorina played the feminist card as best as she could, spewing well-rehearsed maxims during Republican debates, even quoting Margaret Thatcher, saying “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.” She also smartly turned Donald Trump’s thick-headed comments into another opportunity to gain feminist traction, reciting this quip:“I think women all over this country heard very clearly what Mr. Trump said.”
“The Republican Party was not built to embrace a female candidate.”
Yet no matter how hard she tries to sell herself as a feminist, Carly Fiorina does not support women. Fiorina has made it very clear that she, like the majority of the Republicans she’s up against, wants to defund Planned Parenthood, even at the risk of a government shut down. According to their official website, one in five women have visited a Planned Parenthood center at least once in her life. That means that 20% of the female population would have less access to healthcare in the hands of Carly Fiorina.
Fiorina has clearly let her dogmatic Republican beliefs override her duties to the women of her country. Women show political support in large numbers, but the vast majority of them are not ideological Republicans or Democrats. Therefore, in the eyes of many American females, Fiorina’s attack on Planned Parenthood reads more as hypocrisy to her gender than loyalty to her party.
Not to shock you, but the Republican party is inherently conservative. The notion of a woman in power is much more progressive than many Americans are ready for, especially conservatives. According to Gallup polls, roughly two thirds of Americans would not vote for a female president at all, regardless of her qualifications. As the reality of a female president grew more and more likely with Fiorina’s popularity, conservative America got scared. Her knowledge and eloquence were still present but no longer mattered to the American public. Her poll numbers dropped low enough to go from winning on the main stage to being downgraded to the kiddie table just a few debates later.
For Carly Fiorina, the lethal combination of her faux-feminism and her party’s inability to embrace change surely stomped out any chance of her winning the nomination. Although it’s unlikely we’ve heard the last of her, it will be interesting to see how faithful she remains to the party that chewed her up and, with only a small taste of sugar and spice, spit her right back out.
